Xenophon wrong and opportunistic on drone rules

“Nick Xenophon is wrong to try to disallow new drone regulations” said Darcy Allen, Research Fellow at the free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs.

The changes made by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) include scrapping licenses for amateur for-profit drone users flying under 2 kg in favour of a simpler notification system

A new regulatory category will also be carved out where landholders can fly drones under 25 kg on their own private property without the need for CASA approval.

The recent Productivity Commission Draft Report into the Regulation of Agriculture, highlighted concerns over drone rules as a barrier to agricultural innovation.

“Senator Xenophon has no reason for concern, reasonable safety rules stay in place, especially for amateurs. Drones still have to stay 5.5 km away from airports and 30 metres away from people. They can only fly during the day and within line of sight, and their use is restricted in populous areas.”

“Cutting red tape in our overregulated drone rules means Australian farmers and miners can spend less time complying and more time producing food or extracting our resources.”

“CASA and other regulators should be encouraged to continue down this path of regulatory flexibility, so that we can unleash a new wave of Australian prosperity from our primary industries,” Mr Allen said.

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Darcy Allen is research fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs and a final year PhD Candidate in economics at RMIT University in Melbourne. At the IPA Darcy's current focus is the economics of regulation and innovation. His PhD dissertation develops a new theoretical approach to innovation economics, focusing on the private governance of entrepreneurial information in the early stages of new technologies, such as blockchains and 3D printing. Darcy’s research, opinion pieces and comments have featured, among other places, on the pages of The Australian, Australian Financial Review, The Weekly Times, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Canberra Times, and The West Australian. Darcy’s writing has featured in peer-reviewed academic journal articles, conference papers, book chapters, and has been regularly presented at conferences.